Apparatus for charging blast-furnaces.



C'. H. WRIGHT. APPARATUS POR GHARGING BLAST FURNACES. APPLICATION FILED 1111.27, 1911.

1,002,01 8. Patented Aug. 29, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

y Attorney C. H. WRIGHT. APPARATUS FOR GHARGING BLAST FURNACES APPLICATION FILED APB. 27, 1911.

Patented Aug".` 29, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

: lllllllllll Witnesses:

ra'rnnr onnrcn.,

nnrrnn srnrns CHARLES' HERBERT WRIGHT, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO' THE BROWN HOISTING MACHINERY COMPANY), OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

APPARATUS FOR CHARGING IBL.ASl-Il?"|IJ'Zl3/l\l'.ACES.`

finooaoi-e.

Specification of Letters Patent.

rateateaaag, ae, 191i.

Application filed April27, 1911. Serial N0. 623,671.

To all whom it may. concern: l

Be it known thatI, CHARLES H. RIGHT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county ofCuyahoga. and

State of Ohio, have invented a new and. s' useful Apparatus for'Charging Blast-Furnaces, of which the following is a full, clear,

and exact description, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, forming a 10 part of t-he specica'tion herewith, in which drawings similar parts are designated by similar vletters in,each case.

vMy invention relates to and is particuvlarly concerned with the class; of top-mechanisins and apparatus for blast-furnaces whereby the charges of stock are successively made up andv introduced within the stack. These constructionsdider from each other. in many special details and functions,

2Q but-,are generally alike in having the familiar bell and hopper arrangement as a controlling characteristic and principle of operation. This'arrangement is two-fold, in most equipments of the kind in question,

'being `primarily composedv of a receiving ,hopper or distributer into which the skiploads are dumped, and a larger chamber, or hopper, below wherein the skiploads are finally collected into the charge that is to be precipitated into the stack beneath.

Whether a double or single hopper-system lis' used, any closure of the same against the escape of gas in one direction or materialin the other, is invariably effected by. a bell l which is operatively suspended in the lower end of the hopper, againsty or away from which it adapted to be raised or lowered according as an opening or closing of the hopper is to be made. Besides the func- 40 tion of a closure, the bell is also relied on for the equally important function of mixing the variousingredients of ai charge, and properly disposing the same with relation to each other preliminary to their discharge into the fur-nace; Y'This is brought about, in

the rst instance, by allowing the dumps to occur upon the apex of the bell when inl its,

l. closedrelation tothe-hopper and thereby to distributer-#is rotary and, formed with'.l a

555' chute-like extensonat-it's lower orvdischarge endeccentrically located with respect to the bell beneath, whereby the loads, instead. of belng'dlscharged upon the apex of the bell,

lare dischargedA in succession at predeter-v vbefore being precipitated into the furnace,

and whatever are the means employed, by reason of the height the charge must fall and the peculiar impetus and direction it receives from the downward slant of the bell, -anundesirable rearrangement and segregation of the particles of the charge, accordin to their relative weights, sizes and physica conditions, is sure .to occur during the fall, with the result that the relative position of the same in` their nal placing within thel craterof the furnace is incalculably different than at the moment they left the hopper. Many eilorts to counteract or reduce these characteristic difficulties in the operation of the bell and hopper systems have been proposed, asby employing sectional, subordinate orl adjustable opening-bells, deflectors of various kinds, screen arrangements, or, by varying the angle of convergence of the hoppers side, but all without any marked success, sothat, under existing methods, no matter how perfectly the stock is distributed around the bell, when the bell is lowered, that distribution is changed or destroyed entirely, and the fine material of the stock isr inevitably deposited in rings near theshell of the furnace as before, while thev coarser lumps ind their. places farther within, In consequence of such unequal distribution, the stock line is never uniform, drafts and fusion are irregular, and serious accidents and disappointments in the process of smelting are liable to ensue.

It is the object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for use in the field of industry to which the bell and hopper type of mechanism belongs, butwhich, as corn-A pared with: the latter mechanism, among other things, shall materially reduce the dis- 1 tance of the hopper from the stock-line, provide fora vertlcalinstead of a deflected de- .charging process. l

In the drawings, Figure 1 1s a vertical llongitudinal section of theapparatus as a whole. Fig. 2 is a horizontal cross-section in the directionpf the arrows on the line m in Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a verticallongitudinal section of the distributer shown in Fig. l, with a special extension piece therefor in place.' Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-section through the under side of said distributer and said extension piece looking in the directions of the arrows in Fig.f8. Fig. 5 is a horizontal cross-section looking down through thelines y y in Fig. l. Fig. 6 is a vertical longitudinal section of a portion of said apparatus and of the furnace -top, through the line a a, and looking in the direction of the arrows in Fig. 2. Fig. 7 is an enlarged side View of a lower broken portion of the hopper employed, and of a door as hinged thereto. Fig. 8 is anenlarged cross-section of the mouth of the distributor shown in other views, and of the lid or door as connected thereto. Fig. 9-is an enlarged horizontal section of the hopper-suspension ring and adjacent parts on the line fw ,w in Fig. 2, and, Fig. 10 is a side view of Fig. 9.

In the drawings A is a furnace top of the usual type which supports the apparatus under consideration and to which the same is tributary. The mouth or throat of the furnace itself .is circular, and contains a cylindrical metal casing. of fixed hopper L v therein that engages over and rests upon the floor plates' of' the top A -along the lower flange of a channel-shaped rim. F around the upper edge of said hopper. On the in-A terior of this rim, opposite to lsaid lower lange, are projections .upon .which rests a separate downwardly inclined annular mouthpiece or lip-ring P, whose inner-face or edge is beveled to meet and form a seal with the upper beveled surface of va corresponding projection E on the upper edge of the movablehopper H to be described. The projection E is oppositely beveledon its under surface. Y

' The hopper H is a metal receptacle having plain cylindrical sides that are flattened inwardly' and downwardly, however, through opposite limited portions?) 'and b ofthe saine at the bottom. Said hopper has a slightly shorter diameter than the fixed hopper L that Vsurroundsthe same, butis of substantially the same-height. The lower end of the .hopper H is provided with two equal and opposite flap doors D and D that "are adapted to be diametrically closed againsteach other along reversely beveled edges on the same, as indicated by d', to

form a gas-tight joint or seal. The inward This is effected by using a pair of transverse sti'ening ribs h, 71.', and hjh as the'respective door members of the hinges, and connecting these up by pins p with corresponding'vertical hinge-supports@ on said opposite sloping spaces. In order to insure a gas-tightjoint around the doors D and D" when closed, the edge of said'doors are also beveled to meet and fit against a correspondingly inclined'face on the lower edge of the hopper v At the limitofudownward' travel for the hopper H, andas a stop to the same, a ring O projects-inwardly around the'hopper L, withits upper edge suitably chamfered to fit the bevel of theunder vsurface of the annular projection E when the latter has been lowered intobearing against the same. Above and around the fixed hopper .L and bolted to the upper flange of the U- shaped rim F, is a-n upright cylindrical rnetallic cage-like structure C. It is Iclosed at the top by a sloping section that has a central opening through which a rotatory feedhopper or distributor H', ismounted near its upperand flaring end. This'hopper is of the type known as the Brown distribute'r7 being formed with a chute-like lateral extension or spout 4at its lower or discharge end, and is arranged centrally over the furnace-so as to bring the'spout at one side or eccentric of the hoppers axis ofrotation. As a departure from thatfty'paandan irn= prot/ement in the saine, as shown in the drawings,-I make the portion of the Brown" distributer that is above the lateral spout,

funnel shaped, by interposing between the flaring top ofthe same and the spout, a

verticaltubular section that shall serve -to straighten out the line or direction of the lflow and equalize the velocities of the loads at the moment of theirvdischarge from the spout. Without such vertical section there isa tendency-in the loads to overshoot or undershoot-their normal line .'of'deposit, according .as the linev of the How from the skip, and the direction of the Alateral spout referred to, are in or out of conjunction with' each other. .In the one relation, theload rushes downwardly through the spout without check, and is carried unduly beyond said line; in the other, the side of the distributer being in opposition to the skip, the load spends its velocity against the same before4 it passes out of the spout, and will, therefore, fallshort of and fail to reach its destined place in the 'charge. Suitable 'mechanism for rotating and feeding the distributer, as well as foractuating the appa-v ratus in other respects are` sufficiently indicated 'in the gures. As a further structural addition to the forni of distributer referred to,I show a useful detail, in Figs. 3 and 4 for adjustably varying the length of the I spout itself. It consists in the elliptical part or piece Gr adapted to be hung, or otherwise movably connected -to the under side of said spout, so as to project in front of able means of adjustably attachingthe piece may be used, as by hanging the same in guides provided for the purpose on lthe spout, and passing retaining pins' between' the parts thus brought into juxtaposition in the manner indicated in the figures.

As a means of suspending'the hopper H .within the furnace 'top and controllinglits movements and those of its related'parts, I

v4provide, lwithin the cage C ,near the top thereof, a hopper-suspension-ring S. Said ring lis of T-secti-on, and has a diameter that is approximately the same as the hopper. It is itself movably suspended by hanger-rods K (Figs. 1, 2 and 6) that severally engage p the ring S through hanger-blocks N, and

which are connected above to jropes r, r that pass over sheaves 7c, in an overhead frarne` work, and downwardly therefrom to the source of power. Said hanger-blocks Nxare each made up of a pair of oppositely related radial clamp-like parts -or jaws, whose 1n-A turned lower edges extend beneath the'head of'the ring S, and serve as a trackway-,and

. support for the same. Upon the outer face r of the blocks are upright guide-blocks Zv that enter and are adapted to travel within corresponding guides lmfthatextend ywithin the cage C vertically throughout itslength.

Rods R and R are severally fastened to the ring S at diametrieally opposite points on the same and extend downwardly into the hopper H, where they' are each joined with chains c and 0.', whose lower ends branch outand are respectively fastenedl to the in`- 4 ner faces of the doors D and D of said/hopper.

The combined length of said chains must,- of course, be equal tothe distance between the doors to which they are fastened ,when the sameare open, although, inasmuch asv the door. D, is te close up against the beveled edge on D, the chain c may be'made longer than c", to provide therequisite sequence of movement vin the operation.l

` By the' means --just explained,f`it will be seen that, by slacking lor paying out. the

, ropes r, r at thesource of power,the hoppersuspension-ring S, guided by' the guideblocks l within the vertical guides m, will descend within'the cage C, toany point desired, and` that, simultaneously withsuch.

' movement, th'ehopper H, suspended tosaid ring bythe rods R and R,will move away from i'ts sealed 'contact-against the lip-ring P, and descend throughjthe'. throat of-"the condition, as -the suspension 'ring S is furi furnace'nntil the annular projectionE, on its lower face, comes linto bearing against .the projectionO, and the hopper is wholly supported thereby `withinfthe fstack. In this ther lowered, the doors D and D" will open downwardly-about' their hinge-pin p,l and permit `the charge .to fall` directly to the stock` beneath. If. the process were now simply Areversed and the hopper H raised to its initial positionfa highly satisfactory becomplleted, but, with aview to insuring as nearly a level stock-line as possible, I have conceived the further idea of utilizing the return movements of the hopper H, after eachcharging act, to bring about a certain rotatory movement of the hopper itself, that will result inthe next ensuing charge being deposited in a different axial relation `than the last preceding one. To this end-I provide a system of parallelly related main and connecting guides within the cage C and the fixed hopper L, and corresponding guide-blocks s' and s on the ring S and the hopperfH, to enter and be directed thereby. In the illustrations herewith, there are twelve of these main guides, denoted by V, that extend from the top to the bottom of said cage, and the same number, denoted by V2, correspondingly ar-l ranged in the hopper LL Said main guides are equidistant from each other throughout theirentire course, which, in the drawings,

latter and -lower portion of said path or course, however, is extended upwardly and then laterally from the point where it rst changed into secondary diagonal guides V and V3, respectively, that lead to andcon'- nect with thenext adjacent member ofthe series in each case, near its top terminal.

Y-shaped systems of inter-connecting guides are thus made -up upon the inner surfaces respectively ofthe cage and the fixed hopper, that are identical in everyrespect with each other, except that the uides-V, in the cage-system, are longer be ow their junction with they/laterale, than the guides V2.

I provide an automatic arrangement for. sealing the distributerv Hf against the escape of gases when the doors of thev hopper H are opened, by hingin a lid or.' door T tol said distributer so that'it will fall against and close the spout or 'dischargeend of the same when not opened by the lever and bellcrank. arrangement indicated. This opening is effected, in the device shown by the drawings, by means :of ari upright lever u that is pivotally connected, at one end, to .a

suitable bell-crank mechanism to operate .the lid, and, at'the other, to -a yoke Y that 'extendsaround and atoppovsite sides of the distributer H, centrally of the ring'S, and at a suitable height and in suitable relations'to said mechanism to actuate the same.

l and raise thedoor. T` when said lever is "itself actuated and lifted into a horizontal position. :Concentrically with this ring,'and

. joined to the same below the yoke Y, is a lever-actuating ring n, which is adaptedto encounter the yoke Y on the finish of each upward movement of the suspension-ring S,

` and lift the same into a horizontal position.

The lever u. is of course thereby actuated, and the door T, through the bell-crank connections, pushed away from its sealed and closed position, after the sealing o f the furnace'top below. VVh'en therloor T, of the distributer H, is duly` opened in this mani ner', and the ring S is in its uppermost or v normal position, the hopper H w1ll be 1n a corresponding position, with its annular skip next descends, in the regular course, to4

projection E thereon lfitting closely Lagainst the lip-ring in a seal, and its doors D and D tightly shut along their beveled edges. The 'skip-car may'now dump a load into the flaring top of the distributer H', which will fall downwardly'through its elongated throat and laterally therefrom into and oif the center of the movable hopper H. The

the source of supply, and returns with and dumps within the distrbuter, a second and 'successive loads, rotating said distributer, upon each descent, a predetermined extent in the customary way, until, by such proccdure, the charge isfully made up within .the hopper H. The ropes r r, attached to the hanger-blocks N., may then be paid out,

whereupon the latter, together with the susuntil the under-face of the annularprojection Evbrings up against the annular stop O in a seal, and the hopper H, and load, are

4held thereby, immediately above the stockline, in the stack. lAs the ring S -inishes its vdescent to the furnace-top, the rods R and R must correspondingly descend with relation to the hopper H, and, vin consequence,

the doors of the hopper be opened downwardlyand the charge allowed to fall therethrough to its final place of deposit below.

. 4The operation is reversed by winding up the ropes 7', whereby the hanger-blocks N will travel upward in the guides m, and the ring S Iwill inlike manner follow the guides V2 inftheir upward course. j The first effect of this movement will be to'draw vthe doors up linto a' closed and sealed relation to the hopper H, and thereafter to` raise the hopper itself, through the fixed hopper L, to a firm position. againstthe lip-ring?. Inl s o doing, however, by reasonl of the consonance.

`.to protect by Letters-Patent is of the two guide-systems described, and the fact that the upper surface of the branch or connecting guides V and V3 at the lower junction points, in every case lies immediately above and across the upward path of the main guides, the guide-blocks s and s', respectively, will encounter such surface, and, instead of -finishing their upward travel along the particular guides V and V in which it was begun,`must each be diverted therefrom into branch guides Vl and V8, and finally, into the next 'adjacent main guide members of the series in each case. It of course, results that, by this arrangement,'the necessary upward liftingA movement of the parts concerned is utilized to g rotate the hopper H axially-into a new relative discharging line, when the doors are next swung downwardly on their hingesto drop the charge.

Having thus described my said invention and shown the same as embodied in a concrete construction, what I claim and desire l. The combination with a cylindrical furnace-top,- a movable cylindrical hopper Iin the mouth of the same, and suitable 'means for moving said hopper vertically,

and at the same time rotatively therein, sub' stantially. as shown and described.

2. The combination with a furnace-top, of a fixed cylindrical hopper within the A mouth of the same, a movable cylindrical hopperl within .said .fixed hopper, an inclosed chamber above said xed hopper, and suitable means for moving said movable hopper vertically, andat the same time rotatively within said fixed hopper, substantially as shown and described.

, 3. The combination, with a furnace-top, of a movable hopper within the mouth thereof, an inclosed chamber above and opening into said hopper, a charging-receptacle extending into said chamber-and' means for moving said hopper, vertically 110 within said mouth, substantially as shown and described.

4c.l In 'an apparatus for charging blast-furhaces, the combination. with a furnace-top having a receiving hopper lm'ovably sup- 115 ported within the mouth of the same, and an inclosed chamber above saidmouth that opens into said receiving hopper, of'a rotatory feeding-hopper' having a straight section therein and a'laterally projecting spout, 1 20 extending into said chamber, and suitable means for rotating said feeing-ho'pper, and for moving said receivir'ig opper vertically within the mouth of saiI furnace-top, substantially as shown and described.` 'i f .5. In an apparatus for "chargingblastfurnaces, the combination with. a stock-"distributer having inwardyconverging sides at the top and a straig tsection below the same that inclines* dow wardly 'at its lower fljw l end to a discharge opening at'the side, of

A an adjustable eXtension-piece,as described,

said ring or supporting-part, a door for closing the discharge orifice ot' said feedingliopper, and suitable means for raising,r and lowering said ring or supporting-part within said chamber, and at the same time or respectively, opening and closing said door of said feedinghopper, substantially as shown and described.

7. The combination, with a furnace-top, of a fixed cylindrical hopper within Ithe mouth thereof having an annular interior projection at the lower part ot the saine, a movable cylindrical hopper within said viiXed hopper having an annular exterior projection at the upper part of the same, and oppositely related downwardly opening doors at the bottom, an inclosed charnbei` above and opening into said last named hopper, a rotatory feeding-hopper extending centrally therein, a vertically movable ring or supporting-part within said chamber, suspension-rods connected to said doors and to said ring or supportingypart, a door for closing the vdischarge orifice ot' said feeding; hopper, and'suitable means for lowering and rotatively raising in unison said ring or supporting-part .within said chamber and said movable hopper within said iXed hopper, and, at the same time, for respectively closing` and opening said door of said feeding-hopper, all substantially as shown and described.

CHARLES HERBERT WRIGHT.

In presence of C. J. SANDS, WILLIS L. WEsToo'r'r.

Copies of this patent may be obtained forve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

r Washington, D. C. 

